The safety and efficacy of astragalus for treating diabetic foot ulcers: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot ulcers are the most common complication among diabetic patients, which may put the patients in a great danger of amputation. Astragalus as a Chinese herbal medicine has been reported in many publications that it has an efficacy toward diabetic foot ulcers. However, the systematic review and meta-analysis of its efficacy and safety are still absent. Therefore, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Astragalus for diabetic foot ulcers. METHODS: The following databases will be searched from January 1st, 2010 to September 2020: The Cochrane Library, Pubmed, EMBASE, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Data. All the English and Chinese publications will be searched without any restriction of countries. Data will be extracted by 2 reviewers independently. RevMan 5.4.1. will be used to perform analysis and synthesis of data. RESULTS: This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials will evaluate the efficacy and safety of Astragalus for diabetic foot ulcers during the past 10 years. CONCLUSION: This study will provide an evidence to judge whether Astragalus is effective and safe for diabetic patients with foot ulcers. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: Inplasy protocol 2020110059. (doi:10.37766/inplasy2020.11.00596).